When Xia Xingchen packed up her things and walked out of the room, her father had already left. Her mother sat on the sofa, folding clothes silently, her hair hanging down, covering half of her face, but a trace of melancholy could still be seen faintly.
"mom."
Shen Min raised her head and glanced at her. The depressed look on her face had not yet subsided. She only asked, "Has Ye Qing's injury been treated?"
"I fixed it for him. He has a medical team, so he should be fine..."
"That's good." Shen Min said, "Where is he? Bring him his shirt and I'll wash the bloody part for him before he can wear it again."
"He's already gone over there." Xia Xingchen said as casually as she could and put the medicine box back to its original place. Shen Min looked at her from behind, "Xingchen, are you two having a quarrel?"
"... No." Xia Xingchen didn't want her mother to worry, so she shook her head and changed the subject, "Why did Dad leave so soon without even sitting down for a while?"
"Say a few words, there's nothing to say, so I'll leave naturally."
"What did he say to you?"
"Nothing..." Shen Min put the clothes back into the suitcase, paused for a moment, and then said: "He and Li Lingyi are going through the divorce procedures recently. It is said that Li Lingyi made an unforgivable mistake, but he didn't tell me the details, and I won't ask."
Xia Xingchen knew what was going on. This mistake could only be about her. It was best if her mother didn't know.
"Mom, I bought you a cotton-padded jacket. You can wear it in the countryside. I'll come to see you every weekend."
"It's a tiring trip, and it's going to be winter soon. It's freezing in the countryside. Just think of mom here. By the way, this—"
Shen Min handed the brocade box to her. Xia Xingchen took it, and it was still the jade hairpin. Suddenly, she thought of the days in Liangcheng. She thought of him taking a car for several hours to go to Liangcheng to find her, and she thought of him rushing to the hospital without even sleeping because of a phone call from her...
Heart, tight.
It all seemed to have happened just yesterday...
But now, thinking about it again, everything seems so far away...
"Although I didn't ask you, I can see that you and Ye Qing are having a quarrel. You two should talk it out and don't keep it in your heart. Got it?" Shen Min pointed at the jade hairpin, "I'll leave this for you, and you can give it to Dabai later. These are all yours."
Xia Xingchen nodded and did not refuse.
Suddenly I remembered something and asked, "Mom, did his mother come to see you?"
"Whose mother?"
"Lady Bai, from her tone, it seems that she has seen you before. But, I don't know if there is any misunderstanding..." Thinking back to what Lady Bai said, every word was derogatory. Whether it was to herself or to her mother. Logically speaking, it shouldn't be like this.
Shen Min shook her head, "I've never seen any madam. You know, I'm not in good health, so I usually just go to the vegetable market with you. When you're not at home, only Wei Yang comes in and out."
"No?" Xia Xingchen was even more confused.
"Is his mother causing you trouble?" Shen Min asked worriedly.
Xia Xingchen came back to his senses and shook his head, "Not really... They just said they wanted to meet me and talk to me about the child. From the tone of their voice on the phone, maybe... they want custody of the child..."
Shen Min sighed, "They are powerful, do they look down on your background?"
Fearing that her mother would be upset, Xia Xingchen pretended to smile and said, "Don't let me get carried away. Why should anyone look down on my background? My mother is a professor of botany, and my father is the mayor."
Shen Min touched her face and murmured softly: "If I had met someone with a better family background than Mom in the hospital..."
"Mom, what did you say?" Xia Xingchen didn't understand what her mother said. Shen Min shook her head, and the complexity and fluctuations in her eyes immediately disappeared. She just smiled lightly: "Nothing, Mom was just expressing her feelings casually."
… … … …
In the afternoon, when Xia Xingchen went downstairs with her luggage, she saw Rui Gang already waiting downstairs.
"Miss Xia, Madam." Rui Gang stepped forward and took the luggage away.
Xia Xingchen looked at him in surprise, "Why are you here?"
"Mr. President knew that his wife was leaving, so he asked me to wait here early in the morning."
Xia Xingchen's heart was slightly shaken. He left in such a rage, but he didn't expect... that he still remembered his mother. After all, the mother is the child's grandmother...
"He is still so thoughtful." Shen Min looked at her daughter who was worried, and sighed.
She curled her lips and said nothing. Rui Gang had already loaded the luggage into the car, opened the door and said, "Miss Xia, Madam, please get in the car."
… … … …
Ever since her mother passed away, Xia Xingchen felt that her life suddenly became lonely.
That night, I was alone in the hall, staring at the other side in a daze, feeling empty inside and extremely uncomfortable.
That night, she changed all the sheets in Bai Yeqing's room into brand new ones. He had mysophobia, but... In fact, she knew in her heart that it was just unnecessary to do this.
This house...
Probably, he will never come again.
Xia Xingchen fell asleep curled up on the sofa. In the middle of the night, she woke up from the cold and climbed back into her bed.
The next day.
After breakfast, I hurried out. Before leaving, I remembered something and took out a tube of ointment from the medicine box and put it in my bag.
However, I didn't see the president when the flag was raised this morning. I wonder if he won't come to the office today. Xia Xingchen put the ointment on the table and occasionally stared blankly. I wonder how the injury on his back is.
At noon, she unexpectedly ran into Leng Fei in the restaurant. After she got her meal, she took her plate and sat down directly in front of Leng Fei.
"Miss Xia." Leng Fei greeted her with a smile.
"…Did he come to the office today?" She lowered her voice.
"Are you asking Mr. President?"
Xia Xingchen nodded.
Leng Fei glanced at the time and said, "They should be here in an hour. Miss Xia, do you have something to talk to the President about?"
"It's nothing, actually..." Xia Xingchen picked up a mouthful of rice, chewed it slowly, thought for a moment, and then asked casually, "Did he go to see Doctor Fu yesterday?"
"Looking for Doctor Fu?" Leng Fei was a little confused, then he understood and asked nervously, "Mr. President, are you feeling unwell?"
It seemed that he really didn't care about his wound. Xia Xingchen took the ointment out of his pocket and placed it in front of Leng Fei, "Please help me give this to him."
Leng Fei took a look and saw that it was ointment for wounds.
"Miss Xia, don't you plan to give it to Mr. President in person?"
"It's better not to." Xia Xingchen thought of how he fiercely accused her of provoking her yesterday, and added: "Just say you prepared it."
Leng Fei was embarrassed, but that only if the President believed what he said.